Prominent women’s rights activist breaks her silence after two transgender netballers were BANNED by a local league in Australia
A women’s rights activist has spoken of her delight after two transgender athletes were banned from competing in a local netball league in Victoria.
Australian businesswoman Sall Grover – who founded a women’s only social media app called Giggle For Girls – says she is also hopeful that the decision might pave the way for other sporting bodies to follow suit.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was revealed that two transgender netball players were being banned from competing in Victoria’s Riddell District Netball Football League for the 2025 season.
The athletes had been playing for Melton Central against Melton Souths, but over the weekend, footage emerged showing one of the Central players, Manawa Aranui, appearing to send an opponent crashing to the floor of the court. The play was legal and Aranui had offered to help her rival player back to her feet.
Some players of the Melton Souths contingent have subsequently threatened to boycott matches against Melton Central over safety concerns on their decision to name two transgender players in their squad.
Grover, meanwhile, had previously called for the exclusion of both Central netball players, but upon learning that both had subsequently been handed bans, the Australian said the decision was ‘very satisfying’.
An Australian businesswomen, Sall Grover, has expressed her happiness after two trans netball stars were banned from their local league
Netball player Manawa Aranui (pictured) has hit back with a furious statement after she and a fellow trans teammate were banned from playing in a Victorian league on Wednesday
‘I am incredibly happy that there has been one sport in Australia who has acknowledged the relevance of female sport,’ Grover told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I’m very, very happy because – and for it to be netball is also very good – netball is traditionally a female-led sport and it appears that they’ve looked at the law and gone, oh yeah, turn on, we can ban these men and there’s nothing they can do about it. That is very satisfying.’
The subject of transgender athletes has been a hotly debated topic in recent years, with multiple sporting bodies, from World Athletics to World Netball, prohibiting trans players from competing in top-level events.
When pressed on why she believes it is important to stop transgender athletes from comopeting in female events, Grover said: ‘It exists so women have safety and fairness.
‘I mean, there’s a reason why women aren’t going out there and demanding to be part of – the example I always use – Can you imagine a woman on a rugby union field? I mean, she’d be killed. If they played at their full capacity, she’s dead.
‘Or then she changes the entire match because they don’t play at their full capacity. And so it’s this boring match where everyone watching players tiptoe around because there’s a woman on the field.
‘It changes the entire game. It just is what it is. We watch these matches to watch the most extreme fitness of bodies in play like right now.’
Victoria’s Riddell District Netball Football League released a statement on Wednesday on the bans, revealing they had made the decision to impose suspensions on the two players in relation to Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act.
Grover, who is the founder of the women’s-only social media app Giggle for Girls, emphasised how important it was for women to feel safe while playing sports
The statement read: ‘After lengthy consideration and consultation, the RDFNL has ruled that the two transgender participants be excluded from the RDFNL Netball Competitions for the remainder of the 2025 season on the premise that both participants exhibit superior, stamina and physique over their competitors deeming Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act relevant.’
The Sex Discrimination Act makes it clear that it is against the law for a person to discriminate against another because of their sex or gender identity.
Section 42 of that act, states: ‘Nothing in division one or two renders it unlawful to exclude persons of one sex from participation in any competitive sporting activity in which the strength, stamina or physique of competitors is relevant.’
Aranui, meanwhile, has subsequently broken her silence on the matter, after it was announced she and another player had been banned.
‘I’ve sat quietly long enough while this narrative brewed and I’ve been dragged—publicly and without consent — into a conversation where both my character and identity have been attacked,’ Aranui wrote.
‘You’re entitled to believe it’s “unfair” for cis women to compete against transgender women. That’s your opinion. But the lies? They need to stop.
‘You’re not out here protecting women’s sport. You’re being malicious, using false narratives to mask your bigotry and personal agendas behind the guise of “safeguarding women’s spaces.”
‘You’ve spread stories, targeted me, and enabled me to become the sole focus of online abuse and sideline harassment from other clubs and their supporters — right here, in a space where I come to play a sport I love. A place I come to laugh, sweat, compete, and find community.
‘I hope you’re proud of that. And I hope no child in your families ever has to endure what you’ve subjected me to.’
Aranui previously competed at an elite level in the men’s competition before transitioning and becoming a transgender athlete
Netball Victoria is understood to be investigating the matter.
‘We support and welcome netballers of all backgrounds,’ a spokesperson for Netball Victoria said.
‘That includes gender diverse players who have rights under anti-discrimination laws.’
The governing body’s current policy, introduced in 2018, allows transgender and non-binary players to register and compete in female competitions based on self-identified gender.
‘Our goal is to ensure every player feels safe, valued and supported,’ the spokesperson added.
‘We are working closely with affected clubs to find a resolution that is lawful, inclusive and safe for all participants.’
However, by allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s disciplines, Grover claims sports are not respecting the rights of female athletes to fair competition.
‘I mean, fairness is following the same rules as everyone else, which is just participating in sport according to your sex category,’ Grover, who has worked in the film and television industry and studied journalism and philosophy at Bond University, added.
‘That’s all it is. And so if you wanted any sort of accommodations in that, it would be like making sure that male teams were quite OK with guys that wear skirts arriving and if they have the feminine presenting them, whatever, the trans-identified men, they just accept them. So the onus is on them.
‘The onus is not on women’s sports teams to change the entire rules of the game and put women in danger and take away opportunities. Because the other thing, and this isn’t necessarily a bigger thing in recreational netball-type sports, but leaning up further into it, we must remember that every time there’s a man on the team, or in the track event, or the swimming, whatever it is, women missing out purely because he’s there. Because it’s a numbers game. So there’s eight people who can swim in the race and you’ve got seven women and one man. Well, who’s the eighth woman who missed out? Because they put him in instead. She didn’t even get a chance.’
An outraged Aranui (pictured) said she had never been cautioned for her play and added she had once been asked to play by Melton South’s coach
While World Netball prohibits trans players from competing on the international stage, Equality Australia, who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, say blanket bans on trans athletes are unfair.
‘Community-level sport should focus on inclusion and participation,’ a representative said.
‘Sport is for everyone, and [Australian Institute of Sport] guidelines reaffirm the need that sporting bodies play their part in providing a safe and inclusive environment for all,’ Beau Newel, Equity Australia national program manager of pride in sport added.
The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) guidelines add that it is important for all Australians to have the chance to compete in sport.
‘All Australians should have the opportunity to be involved in sport and physical activity, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background or ethnicity,’ the ASC writes.
‘It is important that sporting bodies, from local clubs through to national sporting organisations, reflect the diversity in the communities they are a part of, and that together, we ensure every person is treated with respect and dignity and protected from discrimination.’
